Andrea Oliva: “I’m staying healthy and working on new music and my own upcoming label All I Need”

Andrea Oliva’s current status as an established international headline act is the result of an entirely organic journey. Having taught himself to DJ at the age of 13, Andrea then started working in a record store where he built his extensive collection of upfront promos and white labels from Europe and beyond. Throughout the past few years Andrea has continued with an everstrong release schedule, with EP’s released on Hot Creations, Desolat, Saved, Moon Harbour, Relief, Rejected, Kaluki, 7Wallace, Rawthentic, and Circus, just to name a few.

Andrea’s dedication to the underground scene has garnered him widespread support and his music is appreciated by a range of dance music luminaries. His incredible sustained work ethic and his love of the ever-evolving scene means there’s no sign of this upward trajectory slowing down any time soon.

Electronic Groove: Hello Andrea, thanks for your time today. Your first original release of 2020 ‘Hey Ya’, also marks your debut on Solardo’s Sola, how did the new release come around, did you have the label in mind when producing the track?

Andrea Oliva: Thanks for the invite. We have been friends for a long time and we were discussing the possibility to release something on their label. With ‘Hey Ya’ and ‘Feelings’ we just thought it would be the perfect time to get them out, pretty spontaneous really. We also used our lockdown creativity to work on another original track of mine which we gonna release later this year with a Solardo remix, it’s just a good time to hold together, support each other and have fun!

EG: Is there any inspiration behind the new track you can tell us about?

Andrea Oliva: Everything happens very naturally in the studio, so I never approach a track by having a specific label where it could fit in mind. Most of the time, what you personally think could be good for a specific label gets the love from another label you wouldn’t think they’d like to sign.

EG: How has the reaction been for the tune so far, did you have a chance to crowd test it before we went into lockdown?

Andrea Oliva: I’ve started to play those tracks around last year’s October and November on my North and South America tour and I felt like this is something that has the potential for a release, I like the fact that it’s not so obvious to categorize those tunes. It’s not techno, it’s not tech house, they are just two powerful rave tunes I would say.

EG: Where and how are you coping under lockdown? Do you find yourself producing more, live streaming, or finding new hobbies?

Andrea Oliva: Even though the whole situation is pretty dramatic, scary and uncertain you have to make the best out of it and the fact is that now you have plenty of time to reorganize yourself by doing music, working on your future projects and enjoy the time you have for yourself, which is hard to have when you’re constantly on tour. I’m staying healthy and working on new music and my own upcoming label All I Need.

“I think we’re gonna realize the impact of the pandemic only once it starts rolling again. Until then, it’s just important to get together and support each other more than ever”

EG: As an Ibiza regular, you’ve had weekly headline slots for ANTS at Ushuaia, a solo headline ‘Andrea Oliva & Friends’ residency at Hï Ibiza, and more. What changes or adaptations do you think the island will see following the pandemic and how do you think it will affect artists/venues moving forward?

Andrea Oliva: As I said before, this is a very strange and uncertain time for the whole world and especially for our scene. I think we’re gonna realize the impact of the pandemic only once it starts rolling again. Until then, it’s just important to get together and support each other more than ever. I’m not worried about Ibiza as it had xx good years for itself and still has resources to keep going once all of this is over. I’m more worried about upcoming artists and smaller promoters, venues which are forced to keep up on a day by day, week by week basis and this in a time without a global pandemic going on, so I can only imagine in a situation like this, how hard it must be to be set back to 0, struggle financially and finding a motivation level to overcome all the struggle with an uncertain perspective. It’s very sad.

EG: You have had numerous releases on revered labels, multiple BBC Radio 1 Essential Mixes and Boiler Room sets, what would your advice be for a budding producer who wants to achieve a similarly successful path to yours?

Andrea Oliva: First of all, hard work. Don’t expect people to throw things for free at you, no one is going to knock on your door and offer you a residency in Ibiza out of the blue. You need to earn certain attention and you gain it with your releases in the beginning. Your releases combined with your ability to DJ gives you an identity as an artist which you can only build over the years, so you need to be patient after all and surround yourself with the right people, ones who push you to become better. Eventually, you find your place within the right crew, which has a leader who can open doors, and at this point you just have to work even harder to be able to take advantage of the opportunities given to you.

EG: It’s clear you’ve had an outstanding career so far, what has been your most cherished / memorable moments to date?

Andrea Oliva: At one point everything runs super fast and you tend to take things for granted. In these times you realize how lucky you have been to be able to do what you love as a living. Every time you start building things from scratch and see the evolution of it leading to a result its a priceless feeling, whether it’s a track you sign to a label or a brand turning into a successful event series.

EG: Do you have any further releases in the pipeline or projects that you’re excited about?

Andrea Oliva: I have the Sola release coming, another EP on Saved, I’ve remixed ‘Deep Inside’ by Daniel Stefanik on Moon Harbour, a remix for Dosem for the 20 years stereo productions series, I’m also working on a collaboration with Catz n Dogz and Nic Fanciulli, and also working on music for the launch of my own label ‘All I Need’.